Cap for sealing folding boxes.



H. S. JEWELL.

CAP FOR SEALING FOLDING BOXES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 17. 1912.

1, 1 26,021., Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

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HERBERT S. JEWELL, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

CAP FOR SEALING FOLDING BOXES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmown that I, HERBERT S. JEW'ELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the countyof Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Caps for Sealing Folding Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the sealing of containers, cases or packages having end flaps which are secured by an adhesive. Such containers are extenslvely used as a substitute for wooden boxes for inclosing each a number of articles of merchandise, for instance, packages of grain products, soap, &c., and since the weight of the contents is considerable and the containers are required to withstand the rough usage which they are liable-to receive during transportation, they are made of heavy fiber board, straw board, corrugated board or similar material. The flaps of such containers are not easily folded down and kept in a closed position and considerable difficulty has been experienced in sealing the closing flaps by an adhesive applied thereto, which difiiculty arises partly from the stifiness and springy successfully and in a character of the material of which the container is constructed and partly from the uneven character of the not fill the container permit the application of external pressure in an eflicient and satisfactory manner. Such containers are usually four-sided and have the edges of the four-sided tubular contents, which do bodyv secured by staples or similar means,-

forming a collapsible blank with four flaps at each end. The fl aps at one end of the four-sided body are closed and secured before the contents are laced in the container and these four aps can be secured without difliculty by applying an ;adhesive to the same, placing the container on a former which supports the flaps in the closed position, closing the flaps down and holding them closed by external pressure until the adhesive has set. The container now forms a four-sided box, closed at the to flaps projecting upwar from the four si es of the body. The contents are placed in the container and the four top flaps are required to beclosed down and secured.

The object of this invention is to. rovide means for securing these closing aps ple and inexpenbottom and open at the top, with the four Specification of Letters Patent.

evenly and do not closed down, an adhesive sive manner: This objectris attained by applying to the u per end of the closed container,'t-0 the aps of whichan. adhesive has been applied, a sealing cap which confines or holds the end portion of the container and the closed flaps, and then reversing the container so that this cap forms a bottom on which the container and the weight of the contents rest, whereby the weight of the contents is caused to press the closing flaps against the cap, thus applying internal pressure to the closing flaps which presses the latter evenly against the fiat and even supporting surface of the sealing cap and holds the flaps in close contact with each other until the adhesive has set.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a perspective view of the blank of the container. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the container ready to be closed. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the closed container with the sealing cap applied to the upper end thereof. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the container and cap reversed. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the cap or former, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 6 is a vertical section in line 66, Fig. 5, on an enlarged scale. Figs. 7 and 8 are similar views showing modified forms of the sealing cap.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the several figures.

A represents the four sided body of the container having flaps a b and 0 d at opposite ends. Assuming that the flaps a b are used for forming the bottom, the flaps a are turned'down upon a suitable former, adhesive is applied to the outer sldes of these flaps, the flaps b are then closed down upon the flaps a, and the closed flaps held under pressure until the adhesive has set. The container upon being removed from the former has the form of a box which is open at the top, as represented in Fig. 2. The container is now filled with the packages or othercontents and the top flaps 0 d, are

the upper sides of the flaps c.

.E represents the sealing cap which is applied to the end or top portion of the container and which confines this portion together with the closed top flaps c d, as represented in Fig. 3. This cap is recessed or chambered, resembles a shallow four-sided tray, and comprises a flat bottoin e and side Patented Jan. 26, 1915'. Application med September 17, 1912. Serial No. 720,791.

being applied to walls f corresponding in number, shape and arrangement with the form of the container. The inner faces of the side walls flare or incline toward the edge to facilitate the application of the cap to the top of the closed container. When the cap has been applied to the container the latter is reversed, as represented in Fig. 4. Theweight of the contents now presses the fiaps against the flat bottom of the cap and holds the flaps in close contact with each other. The container is allowed to remain in this position until the adhesive has set, when the cap is removed. The cap assists in bringing the ends of the containers to a uniform shape and holds it in shape while the pressure is applied to the flaps.

In some containers the bent portion of the material at the junction of the final closing flap d with the body A forms a weld or ridge. Caps which are used with containers of this kind are provided at the base of their walls with depressions or grooves g which accommodate these welds and permit the closed flaps to lie flat against the bottom of the cap. The cap may be made of any suitable material but is preferably made of wood and provided with a lining h of sheet metal.

In the construction of the sealing cap represented in Fig. 7 spaces for accommodating these welds are formed at opposite ends of the bottom of the cap by openings 71, and

in the construction represented in Fig. 8 additional openings 70 are formed in the bottom of the cap for reducing the weight of the same.

A convenient and economical way of applying the sealing caps to containers consists in employing a suitable number of such ca 5 and placing one container after anot ier, with the cap applied to the same, in an inverted position upon atravelingsurface or convey-er, for instance, a rotary table, which occupies in its travel or revolution a sufficient period of time to allow the adhesive to set, removing one container after another from the table or conveyer at the end of such period, and removing the caps from the sealed containers.

I claim as my invention:

1. A cap for confining the end portion and adjacent end flaps of a container, said cap comprising a flat support for said flaps, and side walls rising above said support and adapted to confine the end portion of the container, and said cap being further provided at opposite ends with transverse spaces which accommodate the welds of the container.

2. A cap for confining the end portion and the closing flaps of four-sided containers while the adhesive applied to the flaps is setting, said cap comprising a fiat foursided bottom, forming a flat support for said flaps, and sidewalls rising from the four sides of said bottom and projecting above the same, said walls being adapted to confine the end portion of the container against spreading or distortion, and said bottom being formed at opposite ends with transverse spaces which accommodate the welds of the container.

Witness my hand, this 4th day of September',1912.

- HERBERT s JEWELL.

Witnesses:

J M. HAYS, L. K. Hooonzron. 

